


Taming of the Neville Heiress

by DarkPhoenixGoddess10



Category: The Sunne in Splendour - Sharon Kay Penman, The White Queen (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-23 23:15:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9686519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkPhoenixGoddess10/pseuds/DarkPhoenixGoddess10
Summary: You have heard of Shakespeare's "Taming of the Shrew".Well, this is the retelling Shakespeare's play with Richard of Gloucester and Lady Anne Neville. After her 'marriage' to Edward of Westminster was over, Anne unhappily married again. She thought she had learned the right way to tame her new husband after observing how Margaret of Anjou and Elizabeth Woodville handled their husbands. Or so she had thought.It's a one-shot, not historically accurate, and may not make sense to some readers.





	

"How could he do this to me?" Anne asked. "How could he humiliate me like that?"

Her ladies, seeing how upset she is, said nothing; they waited for her to tell them what happened. Only Veronique was there.

"Veronique, tell them what happened!" Anne ordered, playing her lute.

Looked at the ladies and then at her mistress, Veronique uneasily began, "Lady Duchess of Clarence had sent her best wishes and blessing to our Lady Anne. She had sent a tailor and a gown of her own..."

_A tailor and a lady-in-waiting to Isabel Neville, Duchess of Clarence, came before Anne._

_"My Lady Duchess of Gloucester, Lady Isabel sent her best wishes," the lady-in-waiting informed Anne, bowing deeply.  She said that back in Middleham, you always liked the gowns she wore and your mother would have a new gown made for you in the same style, fabric, and color. Lady Isabel has received a new gown from Duchess of York and thus she sent a tailor and the fabrics to make one for you, in the same style and color; just like when you were girls."_

_Anne nodded._

_The lady presented the gown. It was dark green trimmed with black furs. Veronique nearly frowned after seeing it._

_The tailor then rolled out the dark green fabric._

_"I would need your measures, my lady."_

_Before Anne could say anything, Richard walked in. "Can someone tell me what this is about?"_

_Anne looked away. Veronique replied, "Lady Isabel likes to make a dress for Lady Anne as a gift."_

_Richard looked at Anne and then the dress. "No, definitely not! It's lewd and filthy. It is not a dress for my duchess. Take it away."_

_Anne spoke. "This is the fashion. All Neville women wear green."_

_"That is not up to you," Richard insisted evenly._

_"My lord Richard, I have the right to speak," Anne stood up and went to him. "And speak as I certainly well. I am my father's daughter and you have the Beauchamp fortune because of me. If you can't take it, then plug your ears and close your eyes. I will wear whatever I like for I am the Kingmaker's daughter."_

_"Fine, you are your father's daughter and I cannot change that," Richard said. "But that dress is hideous."_

_"Whatever you say, my lord husband. But this dress I will have or I won't have any!"_

_Richard walked up to the dress, held by Isabel's lady-in-waiting._

_"What do you call this pattern? This color? Is it green? Or yellow? Or mold?"_

_"It is the gown given to Lady Isabel by Duchess Cecily," the lady-in-waiting replied._

_"I am sure, but do we know if this is 'the gown'? I am convinced that it is a parody of my lady mother's style and taste. We will not take it. Do whatever you want with it."_

_"I never see a dress better-designed," Anne stepped up, stopping the tailor and lady-in-waiting before they could leave. "This is exactly what I need for my new status in the court."_

_Richard stepped in front of Anne. Pulling out his dagger, he began to destroy the gown - to everyone's horror. "What monstrous arrogance! My brother George dares to disrespect and make a fool out of me! Get out of here you rag, you remnant, you piece of yardage, or I’ll measure you within an inch of your life with your own yardstick, and you’ll remember your yammering for the rest of your life!"_

Veronique finished telling the story as Anne continued to play her lute.

" _Ma cherie_ , I have to admit, that gown really was hideous."

"Hideous or not, it was a gift from my sister," Anne said. "And thus my property. It was my say."

"My lady, Sir Francis Lovell," a valet announced.

"What can I do for you, Sir Francis?" Anne asked evenly as Francis bowed.

"Dickon is waiting for you," Francis said. "He is waiting for his wife and duchess to join him in this evening's meal."

"He can dine on his own, for I have no proper gown to wear all thanks to him."

"Lady Anne, Dickon really means it," Francis said uneasily.

Anne rose abruptly and raised her lute high in the air - as if she were to strike him if he dared to say another word. "Go! Tell your Lord Richard that he is no longer welcome to my bedchambers! If you care to come back, I will crack your skull open!"

~~~

"Where is Anne?" Richard asked. "What's holding her up?"

"She is armed," Francis said.

"Armed?"

"With a lute."

"That frightens you?" Richard questioned. "What can she do with a lute? You see her on a warhorse, declaring a war with a lute high in the air?"

"No," Francis replied meekly.

"Go tell her that I _insist_ that my wife join me."

~~~

Francis left and returned without Anne.

"My lady says to me, _'whoever sent you here can send you elsewhere. I had you figured for a piece of furniture_.'"

"She called you a piece of furniture?" Richard laughed. "Like a stool?"

"Dickon..."

"Go tell her that I would never want to burden her. I know how light and carefree she is."

Letting out a sigh, Francis left.

~~~

He returned with a letter.

"From Lady Anne."

Richard opened the letter and it scribed:

_Too light and carefree for a lout like you to catch—though no lighter than I should be._

He asked for parchment and wrote something. He then folded the parchment and asked Francis to deliver it to Anne.

~~~

Francis presented Richard's letter to Anne.

"What is it?" The ladies gathered around Anne with curiosity.

Anne opened it and the ladies tried to hold back their giggles and laughter.

_My little wasp - stop pretending be so angry. You like to play hard to get, like when you ran away and disguised yourself as a kitchen maid. You were waiting for me and wished that I can find you._

Anne said nothing. She grabbed another parchment and wrote a reply.

~~~

_If I’m a wasp, look out for my stinger. Foolish men like you will never find it._

Richard wrote a reply; gave it to Francis, who delivered it to Anne.

He wrote:

_Everyone knows where a wasp wears its stinger. In its tail._

"Tail," Anne muttered. "Or he meant 'tale'?"

The ink was blurry at the end of the sentence.

She turned to her ladies and said, "Wasps wear their stingers not their tails but in their tongues. When I was in France, Margaret of Anjou taught me that. But if we are referring to 'tales' or 'lies', the stingers are in the tongue of men."

"So the Anjou woman is defeated with a bunch of men's tongues on her tail?" Francis asked.

~~~

"Dickon, she is not coming and please don't send me back to her again!" Francis begged.

"Any reply from her?"

"No, and I nearly got stung by the wasp!"

"Are you that afraid of her and her lute?" Richard questioned.

"You think the Duke of Clarence truly agreed to let you wed her with good intentions?" Francis asked. "I think he wants to get rid of her from his manor. As your friend, I have to be truthful: she has been at odds with you since you reunited with her after her exile in France. She ran away and hid herself in an inn as a kitchen maid. You spent three days searching for her all over London. She hand wrestled with you at the wedding ceremony. You are so kind to her and this is how she repays you?"

"God knows what Lancaster has done to her."

"You are going to allow her to continue on like this?"

"No, I am going to change my strategies," Richard said. "In this art of war. She can stay in her quarters as long as she likes. But, all food and wine will not be taken to her quarters on my orders."

~~~

"Lady Anne, we cannot go on like this," one of her ladies lamented. "We need to eat."

"We will not surrender," Anne insisted though she was weak and her hands were cold.

"We will starve ourselves to death," Veronique said. "And this is our last piece of fruit."

Anne took a knife and sliced the berry into five tiny pieces. "Here, we are sharing evenly."

The ladies looked at each other in disbelief.

"My lady-"

Before Veronique could finish, the door was opened.

Servants came in with meat, bread, and cheese. The ladies were relieved and they ate as if they haven't eaten for years. Richard took a seat next to Anne. He sliced a piece of meat and fed her.

Anne spitted it out.

Ignoring her behavior, Richard said, "George and I have come to an agreement. I decided to vacate the position of Lord Chamberlain. The Beauchamp fortune shall be divided between George and I. What remains is the decision regarding Warwick Castle and Middleham."

"What are you saying?"

"We may make Middleham Castle our home," Richard replied. "But the ultimate decision is mine since the King only listens to my request. If George and I don't come to an agreement, we may have to settle somewhere near London."

Anne looked at her food. "London, Warwick Castle, or Middleham?"

"That will be up to me," Richard told her. He leaned over to give her a kiss, which Anne turned away. She rose and went to her bedchamber.

~~~

"My lady," Veronique came to her.

"I am trapped," Anne muttered. "I am his prisoner, just like I was Lancaster's." She paused and continued, "When I was in France, I was nothing but a prisoner. Lancaster had me on watch and he never bedded me. His mother Margaret of Anjou often expressed her anger, sometimes towards me and mostly towards the men who fought for the House of Lancaster. She told me that she had to express her anger or she'll die from concealing it inside her."

"She is a fool."

"What are you saying? I should put myself so low before my husband and become his property, like a piece of furniture or it stool?"

"It's not that," Veronique said. "What do you want, Anne?"

"I want to go home," Anne said. "To Middleham. I hate being here in London."

"But only he can make it happen," Veronique pointed out. "You have to make him see the way you see. Threatening him with your lute wouldn't help."

She was referring to Anne's wedding night with Richard. After Richard dismissed (or thrown out) their guests who were eager to stay as witnesses for their marital consummation, Anne pointed her lute at him. Seeing her upset, Richard left the chamber and left Anne to spend the night alone.

"I never wanted this marriage," Anne said. "I want my castle and my fortune. I want to be on my own so that I will be on man's property."

"But you are married to him now, _cherie_ ," Veronique said. "If you want to go home to Middleham, you have to please him. Do not make him an enemy."

~~~

Anne was changing out of her dress when Richard came to her bedchamber. He gave Veronique a look; Veronique took the hint and gave Anne's hand a squeeze.

_Be as compliant as you can._

"I do not like this dress," he commented.

"Yes, my lord Richard," Anne said. "The dress is horrendous."

"What are you saying?" Richard laughed, noticing her changed behavior. He finished unlacing her gown. Pulling it off her, he caressed her arm and murmured, "It is seven in the morning. We need to get you another dress to prepare you for the road."

"Seven?" Anne was bewildered. "It is only nine in the evening, my lord husband."

"It is seven," Richard said. "If we were to go to Middleham, then it's seven."

"What?" Anne's eyes widened.

"If you like to stay near London, then it's nine as you said," Richard told her. "But if you like to join me in Middleham, then it's seven like I said."

"It's seven," Anne said quickly.

Richard chuckled, lifted her up and carried her to the bed. He unbuttoned his doublet and untied his breeches. Anne tried to look away, though she knew this night was going to come and inevitable. Lancaster had not bedded her; Isabel suffered from George's neglect and coldness. She did see how Margaret of Anjou and Elizabeth Woodville wrapped their husband-kings around their fingers. Margaret of Anjou had openly vented her anger at her husband and rumors had it that the Woodville queen once threatened the King with a dagger. So for her, threatening Richard with a lute couldn't go wrong, could it?

Well, things didn't go the way she thought it would.

Richard climbed onto the bed and removed his shirt. He yanked the cover aside and kissed her on the lips. Anne didn't kiss him back; not that she didn't want to, but because it was something she isn't familiar with.

"I need get under the covers," Anne whispered after he pulled away.

"Why?"

"It's cold," she said.

"No, it's warm," Richard said, placed another kiss on her shoulder. The touch of his lips brought shiver down to her spine. She obediently lied on her back as Richard picked up her foot. He placed a kiss on her ankle and then another one on her leg. Inch by inch, he caressed her body with his lips and tongue. Pulling up the hem of her shift to her belly, he placed his hand between her thighs. Anne blushed deeply as he pulled her legs apart. He pushed her shift up higher and buried his face into her stomach as he stroke her feminine parts.

Anne bent her back and tried to hold back her moans. However, she failed when he pushed her shift up even further and not-so-gently pinched her nipple. She could feel her body sweating when he suckled her breast. Her hand dug into his dark curls when he drew her whole breast into his mouth. His other hand continued to caress her between the legs.

Sensing what he is doing next, she raised herself from the pillows so that he could pull her shift over her head. Naked, she allowed Richard to pull her close to him. With her breasts pressed against his chest, she buried her face into his neck.

"Kiss me," he said.

Anne gave him a quick kiss on the lips.

He kissed her back before she could pull away. Slowly, he adjusted her position. Wrapping her legs around him, he began to thrust into her; Anne gasped.

_Pain..._

"Do you want me to stop?" He asked.

"No," she whispered.

He thrust into her again, deeper this time. Anne moved her body against each thrust. Her fingers interlaced with his as he penetrated harder and harder. She cried out, but from pleasure; not from pain of losing her maidenhead.

Minutes later, he pulled out of her and rolled onto his back; yet his hand still held hers. Panting and catching her breath, Anne pulled up the sheet to cover herself.

"Don't," Richard pulled the sheet away and moved her hair aside so that her whole body is perfectly exposed. "We shall be on the road tomorrow."

"Where to?"

Richard was silent at first. Then he replied, "I want our heir to be born in the castle we met."

Anne's eyes lightened upon hearing that.

"But that is still to be determined," he added as his hand went to her breast. "You like this?" He cupped her breast.

"Yes," Anne replied.

"And this?" He rubbed her nipple with this thumb pad.

"Yes."

"What about..." He gave her nipple a pinch.

"No!" She protested. "Not so hard!"

"Such sensitive, beautiful breast," he remarked. "And this?"

He sucked on her nipple.

"Yes," Anne moaned with pleasure.

He adjusted the covers and held her in a spooning position. "When we are in bed together, I want you to be honest with me, naked and wet. I do not want a humorless wife who only knows how to say 'yes'," he whispered into her ear. "But if you dare to be naughty with that lute again..."

He didn't say what he'd do to her, but Anne guessed that for her well-being and safety, she _better_ not.

 

~~~

The next morning, her ladies dressed her new gown; it was blue. Looking at her reflection, Anne had to admit that the gown from Isabel was indeed hideous.

She followed Richard into the courtyard and mounted her horse.

Richard gave her a smile.

Their journey thus began; Anne only knew that they were leaving London, but not knowing about their final destination.

~~~

"George will not give up," Richard told her as they rode. "He wants all the lands and title held by your father."

"He doesn't deserve them."

Richard handed her some fruits. "It will be resolved."

Before they could continue their journey, they saw a middle-aged man who was running for his life. Behind him was a large woman with a broomstick, chasing him. The man was shouting and the woman was beating him. Richard eyed his men and they pulled the two apart.

"What is this all about?" He asked.

"He is stealing what is mine!" The woman said angrily. "He is taking my plates and used them to feed his mistress and his bastards!"

"These are mine too!" The man yelled back.

Without another word, the woman swung up her broomstick to beat him. However, someone pulled her back.

"Stop this!" Anne scolded as she wrestled the broomstick from the woman's hand and threw it away. "You shouldn't treat your husband like this. No matter what he did, it is your duty to love him and forgive him. Violence and anger will not be the answer."

The woman looked at Anne and said, "I don't disagree with you, but he is not my husband. He is my son."

Anne blushed.

She returned to her horse to continue their journey. She could feel Richard taking her hand into his.

~~~

After days of journey, they arrived to their final destination.

"You know where you are, don't you?" Richard asked.

Choking back her emotions, Anne nodded. "I'm home."

"The castle used to be your fathers."

"Now yours."

"Ours."

 _Ours_.

 _His and hers_.

The way Richard treated her, it was so different from how George treated Isabel and how Lancaster treated her. Now reminiscing how she threatened Richard with her lute and how she was at odds with him, she saw herself a fool.

"I am ashamed that I had been so simple," Anne said softly. "To offer war where I should kneel for peace."

"Anne-"

"You have been protecting me," she continued. "So that I can be at home, secure and safe."

He placed his hand against her cheek. "Say it no more Anne. Kiss me."

This time, Anne gave him a full kiss.

"My hand is ready," she whispered. "May it do you ease.

**Author's Note:**

> I love "Taming of the Shrew". 
> 
> The 'hideous' green gown that Richard cut into pieces was that green gown Anne wore the most often in the TV series "The White Queen".


End file.
